Red-letter day for the A-League
Melbourne Victory fans will remember Friday’s 3-0 win over local rivals Melbourne City with fondness. But the bigger picture was the 50,873 crowd which was the highest ever non-grand final national league crowd that football in this country has seen. The match was the first all-Melbourne finals derby since the South Melbourne- Carlton grand final in 1998. To say a lot has changed since then would be understatement. Fortunately the Victorian Police horses weren’t required to clear the pitch at full-time, as they were that night at the late, lamented Olympic Park. Like that match 17 years ago the team in blue beat the team in white, with the victors a powerhouse and the vanquished a team with a somewhat indefinable essence. On the pitch the Victory were at their clinical best putting their opponents on the back foot early. The creative and goalscoring firepower the Victory have borders on the absurd, and is possibly the best ever in a single A-League team. Cue pub/cafe discussion.
The Victory are a driven bunch this year, partly forged in the image of coach Kevin Muscat who carved out a significant career despite modest credentials. Ever willing to play the firebrand, Muscat was still complaining about perceived injustices to the fourth official in added time despite a three-goal buffer. He was also somehow finding the need to spit every time the camera turned on him. How one man can generate so much spittle while standing on the sideline is hard to imagine. Perhaps it is his way of compensating for a kind of impotence which comes from no longer be able to dive into tackles. But whether you like his methods or not, there is no denying Muscat’s accomplishments in his first full season at the helm, achieved despite the significant shadow cast by former boss Ange Postecoglou.
Sky Blues flying high
While Muscat is achieving breakthrough success on the sidelines, Sydney FC’s Graham Arnold continues to be at the vanguard for local coaching. Known as ‘Goal-a-game Arnie’ early in his Socceroo career, perhaps his moniker could be updated to ‘Final-a-year Arnie’ (or something slightly smoother). Regardless what you think of Arnold – and he does polarise most fans – his record over the past four years now reads at three grand finals and one preliminary final. His Sydney FC side perhaps had the bounce of the ball in front of goal on Saturday in their slightly flattering 4-1 win over Adelaide United, but Arnold will no doubt venture the view that you make your own luck.
First-half strikes from Bernie Ibini and Alex Brosque were perfect and exquisite respectively, with an ideally timed third just after the break. However, not for the first time this year, Sydney struggled to cope with a healthy lead and Adelaide proceeded to push numerous opportunities inches the wrong side of the post throughout the second half. With too much pace and presence on the ball, the Sky Blues, however, were deserving of their win with an unusually emphatic scoreline for the penultimate stage of any competition (aside from World Cup semi-finals featuring David Luiz).
Where to now for United, City
The two exiting sides from the weekend will perhaps look back on the season with a level of satisfaction. But they should do so only if it has proved a stepping stone to a better campaign next year. Adelaide were there or thereabouts throughout, though it always felt like they were marginally off the pace of the two grand finalists. Still, fans at Coopers Stadium enjoyed regular entertaining fare, they had a FFA Cup win to savour, and next year can look forward to an Asian Champions League play-off. But Josep Gombau’s off-season recruiting must be judicious if the Reds are to keep building.
Melbourne City are more of a mixed bag. Their week-one finals victory perhaps masks what has been an indifferent campaign at best. On Friday, not for the first time this season, they were let down by some average defending. Besart Berisha’s first goal was a defensive disaster for City with the Albanian somehow allowed a free header from six yards. Kosta Barbarouses’ technically excellent goal, however, was a joy to watch. In some ways the match was a mini metaphor for City’s season-long traits. They concede some bad goals, miss some poor chances in front of goal, and can occasionally be accused of being flaky when the heat is on. Their recruiting was hit and miss, and they didn’t always feel like a team unified in their desperation to win. And a mid-level return from their headline-grabbing signings was proof that fine feathers don’t necessarily make fine birds.
A premium finale
Undoubtedly the two best teams will feature next week setting up a perfect A-League championship finale on the pitch. On the debit side the circumstances that has seen AAMI Park end up as the venue – where the attendance will be 30,000 or even less depending on the prawn sandwich brigade – is a disaster on a few levels. Despite the superb atmosphere generated at the venue, the showpiece event will be flatter for the relatively modestly-sized attendance. Down too will be many of the Melbourne rank and file, with many Victory members – which number 22,000 – set to miss out. Those that do get in will also have the right to feel aggrieved by the top-tier $195 tickets.
On the field, the match renews the A-League’s original rivalry which has simmered down over the past five years due to the natural enmity brought about following the introduction of local rivals in Sydney and Melbourne. With the pair having played out two 3-3 draws this season, and a stack of attacking talent in both squads, the decider could, and should, be a classic. There is plenty of feeling between the two teams after this season’s meetings, and it could be the team which settles earliest will have one hand on the toilet seat.
